Vietnam tour has begun with our local 25 year old guide and a nice New Zealand woman who lives near Toronto, Canada. So far, the Vietnam tour is too intimate for my style, But I’ve learned that Vietnam was occupied by China, Japan, French & attempted by America 1965-75. The patriarch of Vietnam (Uncle) Ho Chi Minh heavily influenced Vietnamese people to fight the Americans to seek independence thru solidarity.

Current Vietnam is socialist dominated by single communist party, heavily censored. This year, government pays for public education and by 2030 they aim to replace gas powered scooters with electric. There is an emphasis on beautiful, colorful mosaic walls but infrastructure lacking as water not potable by locals.

Yes, Vietnams economy growing, still a developing country. Up to 12 can live in narrow vertical homes in the old quarter. Outside, exists a chaotic & dangerous tangled wires while on the ground, flooding occurs when it rains. Think the movie Parasite. McDonalds is expensive compared to the cheap street foods in Hanoi. Very few homeless but even they are selling matches or toothpaste.

There is no evidence of police patrolling the streets, instead there is a reported abundance of undercover cops posing as Grab or Uber delivery. Chris and I like to speculate who’s undercover! Walking across the street is INSANE. You just keep a steady pace, knowing buses don’t stop and mopeds move to accommodate the pedestrians. The sidewalks are for street vendors, parked mopeds, men repairing shoes or carving spools, and room and maybe for a pedestrian walking single file.

The highlight of Vietnam was eating bun cha, a delicious soup with grilled pork & noodle, egg roll & beer all for $6 at the same diner President Obama and Anthony Bourdain made history, seen on YouTube. The table & bowls are memorialized behind plastic exactly where they sat.